Many handheld wireless communication devices that are in use today provide video capturing capabilities. An example of such a handheld wireless communication device (“device”) is a mobile phone that includes a digital camera for capturing still images and videos. With such a device, a user can record a video or conduct a live video chat session with a far-end user.
During a video chat session, the image of the user (typically, the face of the user) is captured by the camera of a near-end device, and then transmitted over the wireless network to a far-end device. The far-end device then displays the image on its screen. At the same time, the image of the far-end user (typically, the face of the far-end user) is captured by the camera of the far-end device, and then transmitted to and displayed on the near-end device. During the video capturing process, any relative movement between the camera and the user can reduce the image quality of the video. For example, if the user is walking or otherwise moving when he talks, the image of his face may be unstable. Further, the user's hand holding the device may be unsteady, which results in unsteady images.
To improve image stability, a user may mount his device on a stable surface, e.g., on top of a desk. However, mounting the device at a fixed location reduces the mobility of the user, as he cannot easily move outside the range of the camera during a video chat session. Further, even if the device is mounted at a fixed location and the user is sitting during a video chat session, the image captured by the device can still be degraded when the user moves his face or body. In some scenarios, the user may post-process the video captured by the device. However, post-processing techniques are not suitable for a live video chat.